Squeeze bottles, i.e., bottles made of a resilient material which can have the contents thereof discharged by external pressure exerted on the walls of the bottle, have been used for a long time primarily due to convenience and cost. More recently these squeeze dispensers have become increasingly attractive for the dispensing of various products as sprays or mists due at least in part to the ecological problems encountered with aerosols, or due to cost or flammability problems associated with aerosols designed to overcome the ecological problems. The term "aerosol" is used herein in the broad sense to designate any package where the discharge of a material from a container as a spray or mist is aided by a compressible or liquefied gas, even though the spray or mist is not necessarily a true aerosol. These spray squeeze bottle dispensers have utilized a variety of closures including a push/pull closure assembly with separate air and fluid passages. The push/pull closures disclosed are mounted within a neck of a squeeze bottle; and, in order to prevent fluid material from being dispensed when not in use, the entire push/pull closure assembly is pushed into the neck of the bottle.
Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 3,330,446 discloses a push/pull spray head for a squeeze bottle dispenser having separate air and fluid material passages therein. The air and fluid material passages each enter a discharge duct wherein the air joins with the fluid material and are expelled simultaneously through a discharge orifice in the form of a spray. The dispenser is closed by pushing the entire spray head assembly into the neck of the squeeze bottle. U.S. Pat. No. 3,255,934 discloses a push/pull spray assembly fitted inside the neck of a squeeze bottle. Separate air and material passages are formed in the body of the push/pull assembly. Each passage enters a discharge duct prior to exiting a discharge orifice at the end of the duct as a spray. The dispenser is closed by pushing the push/pull assembly into the neck of the squeeze bottle. U.S. Pat. No. 2,961,169 discloses a closure for a squeeze container which fits within the neck of the container. The closure is a pluglike member having a slot formed therein so that air can move from the interior of the container into a discharge duct. The air combines with and is discharged with fluid material entering the discharge duct by a separate passage formed in the pluglike member. The fluid material and air are discharged as a spray. The container is closed by pushing the pluglike member inside the neck of the container. Although the above assemblies shown in the art have substantial advantages, they have in common the fact that the entire push/pull assembly is pulled out of the neck of the squeeze bottle to open the assembly and pushed into the neck to close the assembly. The material dispensing and air passages are thus closed by engaging a neck part of the container or the closure assembly. As a result, closure parts can become fouled with product residue retained thereon which, over time, becomes unsightly. Additionally, the interfitting of the slidable parts can permit leakage or the loss of volatile components from the products to be dispensed. Further, the orifice in these assemblies, while adjoining, function primarily as a vapor tap and cause or permit only limited mixing of the product and air at the time of spraying and, accordingly, the break-up of the product into a fine aerosol-like spray is not realized.
Squeeze bottle dispensers utilizing a swirl chamber insert with separate fluid material and air passages located inside the spray head are also known. The material and air passages abut and have openings into a channel formed by a swirl chamber insert. Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 4,157,789 discloses a right angle spray nozzle having a swirl chamber insert with a fluid material passage and air passage in communication with a discharge duct and outlet formed by the swirl chamber insert. The manner of closing the discharge orifice is by rotating a wall-containing member in front of the discharge orifice. U.S. Pat. No. 4,020,979 also discloses a squeeze bottle spray dispenser utilizing a swirl chamber insert. As shown therein, a material passage which flows through a post in the swirl chamber and an air passage are in communication with a discharge duct formed by the swirl chamber insert. The fluid material and air exit together through the discharge orifice in the form of a spray. As is apparent, these dispenser assemblies do not have a push/pull member or provide a means of sealing the fluid material and air passages. The closure means disclosed is the rotation of a wall-containing member in front of the discharge orifice. The assemblies are relatively complex and, accordingly, are relatively costly and leave room for malfunctioning, including by plugging.
Squeeze bottle dispensers having a fluid material passage and an air passage formed in the outlet wall of a dispenser with the fluid material and air passages being closed by a flip cap having two downwardly extending posts which fit into the fluid material and air passages simultaneously to seal the passages are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,991,913 and 3,724,723. According to these patents, while the squeeze bottle dispensers have separate fluid material and air passages formed in the discharge outlet wall thereof, these patents do not teach a push/pull member or a right angle spray.
Accordingly, while the art of squeeze bottle dispensers discloses dispensers utilizing a push/pull assembly having separate fluid material and air passages therein which exit through a common discharge orifice, the entire push/pull assembly is pushed into the neck of the dispenser to prevent fluid material from exiting the dispenser when the dispenser is not in use. No patent discloses a push/pull assembly having a swirl chamber insert in the discharge orifice of the assembly. Further, while the art discloses a squeeze spray dispenser having a right angle discharge orifice having separate air and fluid material passages in communication with a discharge duct formed with a swirl chamber insert, no patent discloses a push/pull structure or a means of preventing air and fluid material from entering the discharge duct when the dispenser is inverted.